Nick Saban secured a commitment from Surtain, the highest-rated uncommitted player Wednesday

The biggest announcements of National Signing Day got started on Wednesday morning when five-star cornerback Patrick Surtain Jr., the top-ranked uncommitted player in the 2018 class, surprised many recruiting experts by picking Alabama over LSU.

Surtain is ranked as the No. 6 overall player and No. 1 CB, according to the 247Sports Composite, playing for his father, former All-Pro cornerback Patrick Surtain, at American Heritage in Fort Lauderdale. LSU had been considered the leader in Surtain's recruitment for much of the process, but a late charge from Nick Saban and his staff has resulted in one of the biggest recruiting wins of the cycle going Alabama's way.

Surtain's head coach for his first two years at American Heritage was current Miami cornerbacks coach Mike Rumph, and it's never easy going head-to-head with the likes of LSU and Clemson on the trail. Surtain not only chose to wait until February to commit, but remained active until the very last minute, taking official visits to all four finalists since Jan. 12.

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Chip Patterson has spent his young career covering college sports from the Old North State. He's been writing and talking about football and basketball for CBS Sports since 2010. You may have heard him...
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